SUNBURY — Joyce Newton was a typical 21st-century “lonely heart” when she logged onto the Internet in search of companionship in October 2003.
The city woman now claims it was naivete and her misfortune that she fell into a long-distance relationship with a South African that led to her conviction by a Northumberland County jury in January of felony charges, including identity theft.
The 57-year-old Ridge Avenue resident continues to profess her innocence as she faces sentencing Monday for receiving stolen property, identity theft and criminal conspiracy to commit identity theft. She was acquitted of five other charges in January.
Her attorney, conflicts counselor John Broda, said Newton faces a county jail sentence and he’ll argue for probation.
The way Newton tells it, she was simply looking for love and was naive enough to get pulled into an Internet scam by a con man.
She’s had a history of bad and tragic relations, including a first marriage that ended in divorce after eight years and two children.
Newton remarried in 1980 and had a third child. Together, the couple took in two foster children.
In 1987, her second husband committed suicide and “life took a drastic turn,” Newton said.
She had to cease foster parenting, became home-bound and fell into depression that required medication.
Then, in 1995, her youngest son brought a computer into the home and Newton began exploring the outside world.
She met a man in a chat room in 1997 and, after a face-to-face meeting, decided she and her son, then 15, would move to the state of Washington to live with him.
They stayed for a year before Newton realized the relationship wasn’t working and returned to the Valley.
“I stopped looking to meet people online,” she said.
But in late 2003, she came across a Web site promising a love connection and she logged onto it.
The contact
Newton quickly came into contact with a man named Omega, who wooed her with romantic conversation that wasn’t vulgar or obscene.
She said they spoke by telephone and via Web cam — “My mom even said ‘Hi’ to him” — and in November 2003, Omega sent Newton an elaborate bouquet of flowers on her birthday.
A few weeks later she received another bouquet from him, followed by chocolates and other goodies, plus Christmas gifts for Newton’s daughter.
And then Omega casually mentioned his birthday was approaching.
Newton said she was worried because she had no money to buy him a present, but was afraid to send nothing since he’d been so gracious to her.
So, she took on a debt she couldn’t afford and bought him a camcorder.
“I told him I don’t know how I can send it to you, since I can’t afford the postage,” Newton recalled.
Omega informed her that he had a Federal Express account, provided her the numbers and the camcorder was shipped off to him without cost.
He paid for her Internet connection when the service was threatened to be cut off for nonpayment.
The true nature of the relationship unfolded quickly after that, but Newton claims she was none the wiser.
The setup
One day Omega told her to expect a package delivery at her home that wasn’t for her. Instead, she said, he gave instructions for her to mail the package to him in South Africa.
When she questioned why he didn’t just have the package sent directly to him, Newton said Omega told her that some companies won’t send merchandise internationally.
Newton didn’t question it and did what he asked.
She accepted the delivery of computers from Advantec, a Massachusetts wholesale and distribution firm, allegedly purchased by Omega using the stolen identities and credit-card information of a New Jersey couple, according to Northumberland County District Attorney Anthony Rosini.
Newton received the packages at her home under the name of another person, repackaged the merchandise and shipped them to South Africa.
The fall
The scam unraveled when the New Jersey couple received credit-card statements showing the computer purchases.
At Newton’s trial, Rosini said Newton was compensated for her involvement by the South African who bought her gifts and paid her cable and Internet bills.
But Newton claims she was not in on the crime and considered Omega’s gifts as a by-product of a loving relationship.
“He tricked me. He really, really fooled me,” she said, referring to Omega.
Her daughter, however, grew suspicious and cautioned her mother that there might be illegal activity involved.
According to their e-mails, Newton told Omega of her daughter’s suspicions and lightly questioned him about it but continued with the relationship.
“I was naive,” she said.
-- E-mail comments to mmoore@dailyitem.com
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